Time ripe to find inner 'Rich Dad' in Greene County housing

In his wildly popular financial advice book, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money - That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not," author Robert T. Kiyosaki charts a course for financial independence that involves, among other things, real-estate investing.

His book has sold tens of millions of copies and is the subject of much debate. Life-changing advice or a challenge for a fool's errand?

What isn't in question, if you take anything from Kiyosaki, is the opportunity for Greene Countians (or people looking to invest there) to turn a house around for rental, build a duplex, get involved in the housing-rental business.

The county, buoyed by Scranton Manufacturing and Hy-Vee and the potential of a Wild Rose casino and other developments, expects to have as many as 700 new jobs available in the near future.

City councils in the county and the Greene County Development Corp. and private developers are working on strategies for more housing and employee recruitment.

But there is canyon-sized opportunity for the private individual, the small investor, a couple with a rental house, a family looking for an extra income stream with the development of a four-plex in any of the cities in the county.

Scranton, for example, is exceptionally well positioned as a growth spot for housing. It's situated between an established commercial trade center in Carroll - and Jefferson, a vibrant county seat with a strong manufacturing base and among the more promising futures of any city in Iowa.

Of course, many people seeking to become the "Rich Dad" have ended up the "Poor Dad" on the journey.

You can question land choices and rent price points and tenant selection and any number of factors related to real-estate investment - in Greene County or Carroll County or anywhere else.

But you can't challenge the timing in Greene County. It's there. It's now.